New Jersey Devils level NHL series with NY Rangers

Zach Parise scored twice in the third period and Martin Brodeur stopped 27 of 28 shots as New Jersey defeated New York 4-1 in game four of their Eastern Conference series. "We played well," said Brodeur, who also had an assist. "We got to them somehow and that is why they took penalties in third which took them off their game." Bryce Salvador and Travis Zajac each scored goals in the first period and Parise tacked on two more in the third for the Devils, who evened the Eastern Conference series at two games each. Russian forward Ruslan Fedotenko scored a powerplay goal for the Rangers in the third. The top-seeded Rangers will host game five on Wednesday. New York held a 2-1 edge in the series after taking games one and three by identical 3-0 scores. New Jersey now have one win on the road and one at home in the series and are 5-2 on home ice this postseason. Parise scored on the powerplay in the third, pushing a rebound through the legs of Rangers' all-star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to make it 3-0 at the Prudential Center arena. Sweden's Lundqvist couldn't handle the shot from the point by Devils' forward Ilya Kovalchuk as the puck bounced off his chest right to the stick of forward Parise who was parked in front of the net. Parise, of the USA, helped seal the win by scoring into an empty net with 89 seconds left in the game. "We've done a good job of not getting frustrated," Parise said of the Devils. "But when you play the same team over and over again you get frustrated at the other guys." The Rangers did not have forward Brandon Prust Monday, as he was suspended one game for elbowing Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov in the head on Saturday. New York forward Mike Rupp was given a 10 minute misconduct in the third Monday after he punched Canadian goaltender Brodeur in the head, leading to a testy exchange in front of the Devils' net involving players from both teams. "I just looked at him and he turned around and sucker punched me," Brodeur said. "At least now I know I can take a punch."